POWAY: Council lowers mileage reimbursement

GARY WARTH - Staff Writer

POWAY -- In a move more symbolic than fiscally significant,
Poway City Council members on Tuesday agreed to cut their annual
gas allowance from $4,500 to $3,600.

"There were a number of cuts they made recently, and the council
thought it was a responsible thing to do," senior management
analyst Tony Winney said about the reimbursement reduction. "They
wanted to offer a symbol that they were also making cuts to their
budget."

While the annual $4,500 savings from reducing the mileage
reimbursement will not have a large effect on the city's budget,
every penny counts at a time when income from sales and property
taxes are declining. The council has trimmed $3.5 million from its
$76 million budget in the past 18 months, and Tuesday eliminated
six vacant jobs. Winney said the city also has raised fees to
generate $2.2 million in the past year.

The Poway council's decision to share in the budget cuts was not
unique in North County.

In Escondido this month, council members agreed to return half
of a 10 percent pay increase that became effective in December.
Mileage reimbursements, however, were left untouched, said
Escondido City Manager Clay Phillips.

Escondido City Council members, the city attorney and the city
manager receive $9,000 in annual mileage reimbursements, Phillips
said. While the reimbursement in Escondido is more than twice the
amount received by Poway City Council members, Phillips said it
still is a realistic figure considering the amount of driving the
job can require.

Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler said her annual reimbursement of $9,000,
distributed monthly in $750 payments, is used to offset many
expenses associated with her duties.

Pfeiler said she has kept track of her mileage for the past
three years and found she pays between $5,000 and $6,000 in gas
alone. Other expenses, such as business lunches and tickets to
events she attends as mayor, brings her total to between $13,000
and $14,000 a year, which she said the monthly allowance helps her
cover.

After submitting her receipts for a 2005 tax audit, Pfeiler saidthe Internal Revenue Service found all her expenses to belegitimate.

"I was totally validated about how much it costs to be a mayor,"
she said.

In Oceanside, Cindy Gersley in the payroll office said the mayor
receives $4,800 a year and other council members receive $4,200 a
year for mileage.

In Vista, communications officer Andrea McCullough said the
mayor receives $7,200 a year and council members receive $6,000 a
year in auto allowances. Faced with a $1.2 million deficit to its
$68 million budget, McCullough said Vista city officials have a
freeze on hiring new employees, but have not discussed reducing the
mileage allowance.

Winney said the Poway council decided to cut its own
reimbursement after a resident raised the issue at a meeting. The
city also was taking a cue from Chula Vista, which has eliminated
its mileage reimbursement for council members.

While Poway, Escondido and Oceanside reimburse city officials
with a flat rate, other cities and businesses may ask drivers to
keep track of their trips and reimburse them according to a rate
set by the Internal Revenue Service, which as of Jan. 1 was 55
cents a mile.

Whether the flat rates are legal has been a point of debate. A
2006 state law calls for members of the legislative body to fill
out forms that show their actual expenses before they are
reimbursed, although an older law allows reimbursements for travel
expenses with a flat rate.

Winney said Poway City Attorney Lisa Foster has determined the
council's flat-rate reimbursements are within the law.

But in the city of San Diego, where the mayor and council
members until recently received $9,600 a year in auto allowances,
City Attorney Jan Goldsmith is reviewing the law.

In recent months, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and all SanDiego council members except Ben Hueso and Tony Young have declinedthe $9,600 annual reimbursement and instead are reimbursed for onlythe miles they log on expense reports.

An article in Friday's North County Times incorrectly reported
San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith's position on flat-rate
mileage reimbursements for city officials.

To clarify, Goldsmith provided the following statement: "I never
stated that flat-rate allowances should not be allowed. My comments
were in writing and published. I stated: 'A policy of paying a set
amount of money monthly in advance without receiving expense
reports and receipts for the actual expenses incurred violates
Government Code section 53232.3.' "